My mom and I aren't on the same page...
 

Hi guys!
Well ever since I got my baby MuShu, we have been tried as hard as we could to potty train him. He pees on the pad 90% of the time at 6 months old. Of course there's always the occasional accident. My concern is how my mom deals with the accidents, if I don't see it happen.

After MuShu peed on the floor, which may be up to an hour after it happened, my mom scolds him. She picks him up by the back of his neck (I know it doesn't hurt), hits him in the face, pushes half of his face into his mess, then practically throws him into his ex-pen and sometimes hit him or yells. Then she makes me clean the mess.
I almost cry every time I see this happen. He is such a small little thing, and she thinks it's okay to hit him (Even a big dog shouldn't be hit!). I mean, I would understand a tiny tap on the nose that only causes discomfort, while he still remembers his mess, but not an hour after. That has to be animal abuse right??

What do you think I should do!? I can't stand to see my baby locked up in his ex-pen in the corner for hours on end. My mom won't let me take him out. we have fought about this a numerous amount of times, and now I'm just out of ideas.

Can I get some opinions on this?


(Mind you, I'm only 15, if that matters...)

In my opinion YES it is animal abuse :( and I am so sorry you have to witness this :( She needs to be educated on the proper way to handle this situation. Your baby is not safe in this current environment .
If you mom doesn't change her ways I would rehome MUSHU :( I know that sounds harsh , but this little one IMO is in danger.
Again, I am so sorry your in this situation :(

I tried calmly educating her on what we should do when he pees on the floor but she replies with "He won't learn any other way!!"

Yes, I have considered rehoming my baby. It's so sad..

It is sad and my heart breaks for you. I am so so sorry your upset and hurt . I don't know what to say except MuShu needs to be your number one priority right now , he's well being depends on it. :(

I'm hoping that he gets the hang of potty training ASAP.

We are getting MuShu neutered in a couple of weeks, and I'm wondering if potty training will be easier when he is neutered. Do you happen to know the facts on this?

I'm sorry your mom is treating him this way! How sad! Keep in mind that he is not having accidents because he wants to be difficult or he isn't smart enough. He just doesn't understand. It's not his fault but the fault of the humans in charge when he has an accident. It must be so frustrating for you and it certainly is frustrating for me as your mom is not here to yell at. You are only 15 but you know that it is not the correct way to handle things. Are you taking him out plenty of times to go potty? I know when you are 15, there are lots of other distractions but I would make it a priority to get him house broken.
There is a book out there called how to housebreak a dog in 7 days. Maybe you could try some of those techniques? I'm sure your mom is probably just frustrated but maybe you could explain to her that her reactions are only going to make things worse. He does not understand and you need to find a better way of communicating with him....

You have to remember that your the only voice you dog has. Is he acting afraid of hands and things yet? That probably is going to happen. It sounds like animal abuse and I am so sorry you are having to deal with this.

wow. You could direct her to this site AND have your post deleted and start a new one for her to read - but that's def not the way to handle any pet - ever.....

She's not only hurting this puppy but he may never train for fear of being abused....they don't understand this kind of human behavior and it's wrong on every level

I'm sorry for you and your poor puppy....your mom needs to realize that hitting animals is abuse....I kind of agree with Bianca & don't mean to sound harsh but maybe you all need to find a new home if she can't handle accidents before this puppy is seriously hurt ?

You're young and good for you knowing the difference between abuse and training - you're in a hard situaton - I feel for you :(

I take him out 10-15 minutes after he eats, right after play time, right when he wakes up. And every hour or so if none of those happen. I make sure he won't pee on the floor.

Honestly I think that potty training will go slower with this kind of approach...because when he pees in the correct spot, he looks at me with those scared eyes, wondering if he did the right thing.

Thanks for the support.

I think I might have to consider rehoming MuShu. Umm do you happen to know if potty training is a little bit easier after a dog is neutered?

Sorry it's your mom - but - I wouldn't be letting her near MY dog. That is abuse - and you should tell her that you posted on here and what people think of her treatment:eek: If I saw anyone doing that to Mr. Darcy they would certainly hear from me what I thought of them:thumbdown - Why would you even let her hit him??????????????????????????????????????????????? ??????????? Maybe you should consider even keeping him your yourself - I hate hearing things like this.

I posted already but just saw this (above) and want to tell you - you're very mature for your age - neutering may help a little but if she keeps doing what she's doing you're going to have a very fearful dog and he may never train

I can tell you love him.....what your mom is doing isn't love...
I wish you all the best....this IS sad.

I think telling her that she is insane for doing this might be what she needs.

Thanks(:

And what's odd about this whole thing, is that she acts fine when he's obedient. Like the only time she will abuse his is when he had an accident. They play like nothing ever happened!

I am so sorry that your mom is doing that to MuShu. This type of treatment may have adverse effects on the puppy. Her is a link to Purina's website for puppies.

New Puppy Care: Taking Care of Your Puppy | Purina.com

Here is info from Purina.

What are some key tips for housebreaking a puppy?

http://www.purina.com/i/all/hdr_icn_audio.gif
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What are some key tips for housebreaking a puppy?


Listen

The secret to housebreaking a puppy is to catch him in the act of doing things right and then praise him extravagantly. Pups generally want to please.
To start, take your pup out often - first thing in the morning, after he eats a meal, after a play session, and every couple hours otherwise. Soon a routine will emerge. Be patient. Young pups don’t have the muscle control to hold things in, so it’s up to you to figure out the timing.
To keep stress levels low, contain the pup in an easy cleanup zone until he begins to get the idea. Don’t reprimand him unless you catch him in the act of doing something wrong, and even then, make it nothing more than a firm "no.” In six to eight weeks, your pup will learn what you want, and be happy to oblige.
– Dr. Larry McDaniel, DVM for the “Purina® Animal Instincts” Podcast Series


Please try to get your mom to understand that she is using the old way of house breaking. Showing the puppy love and understanding will go a long way in helping the puppy mature and is the best way to teach the puppy.

I'm sorry to hear this, Mushu definitely forgot about the "pee" after an hour, it's pointless to hit him or push his head near the pee and tell him he made a mistake, I would make mum understand this, and plead her not to do anything if it happens, and let me handle it..
I seriously hope nothing worse will happen to him, yorkie is so small...should be treated gently. In fact, every dogs should be treated gently :(

Thank you for the websites. I will try to get her to look at them.

I fear that he will grow up to be scared of everything, because he afraid he is doing something wrong.

Even 5 minutes after the accident is too late!!! ARGG!

Praise him and give him treats! Let him know it's the correct spot to pee pee :)

I always do :)

He goes crazy after those treats ha ha!

This makes me so sad to read this. Yorkies have such delicate spirits (and bones) and when the trust is broken it is so hard to get it back. You've already gotten great advice that I would give so I won't repeat. I just wish you so much luck in dealing with this difficult situation.

I just browsed your photo album, you two look so happy together.. I hope your mum will understand this, and so you don't have to rehome him :)

Thank you. I'll need all the luck I can get! :)

I'm going to pray that he will stay in our home :)

okay sweetie this is what my mom did to train her pug and it worked almost all the time now the poor thing only pees on the floor when she thinks she is standing on he pad

take him out like you have been doing every hour after food and such with no exceptions if you are not home lock him in is crate or x-pen don't leave him with your mom then when you get home get a six foot nylon leach and keep it on his harness so he cant get away from you when you see him start to squat say no and put him on the pad then praise him make sure you are sitting inside the six feet at all times
this should help him realize he cant pee on the floor and where he needs to pee so you can relax and then when your mom is not home let him off the lead and see how he dose

Hmm I never thought about the leash inside the house..I may try that.

Sometimes it's to notice that he is peeing, because he is already so close to the floor that when he squats it's not noticeable..

Thank you for the advice!!

I am so sorry to hear what you're going through. I know you have to be very upset and I wish I were there to help.

When I was younger, my parents made the same mistakes when raising our dogs. They thought it was normal to hit the dog, yell at the dog and put them in time out. They would also rub the dogs nose in the mess and throw them outside. Once I became a dog owner, I knew what they did was very wrong. I was educated enough to know, their actions did not work and it was abuse. I only hope that your mother would come to understand that praise instead of abuse, will help your little one, not hurt. If your mother is a computer person, have her look at all of the advice people are giving you or pull up some of the sites on how to potty train your dog. If she is not into computers, go to the library and get a book on puppies. Have the book out in the open and maybe she will read it. If she doesn't, ask her to sit down with you and read it together.

I know you are 15, but make sure the puppy is priority. It is a lot of responsibility to raise a puppy, but I know you can do it. Make sure you clap your hands and show excitement when your puppy does the right thing by going on the potty pad or outside. Praise gets you very far with these little ones. They love to see you excited and happy. That is their main goal in life.

I wish you much luck and I hope your mother joins in on the fun! ;)

I was raised with cats and just can't imagine my mom ever doing this to any living being -or me witnessing it - but I know back in the day it was susposed to be the way to train -

I'm so glad we've become more humane when it comes to this particular way of handling dogs.....we still have a long way to go because I'm sure this is way more common than we'd like to think

So very sorry to hear you are dealing with this. You are 100% correct that her behavior is unacceptable.

On a positive note, you are very mature for your age and reaching out here was a terrific idea

I second the suggestion of having your mom take a look at the websites referenced. If she won't perhaps print the content, staple it together and give it to her to read. This will be an attempt to change her behavior through education... which may or may not work

You could, calmly, and not in an argumentative way, try to ask her why she believes this type of "training" is acceptable. It may give you some perspective on her thought process - not to validate it - but to give you ideas on how to possibly re-orient her thinking

Finally, I would suggest emphasizing that since it is your pup that you want to be the sole person responsible for his training and care. And that she should not be involved. I also agree with the prior poster who said that when you are not home to have him crated, perhaps in your room so he is safe.

I agree it is more common than we'd like to believe. It really makes me sick to my stomach. The sad thing is being so young, it is difficult to change your parents behavior. It went from generation, to generation, however, I am happy to say I broke the cycle. I have taught my boys how to raise a happy/healthy, dog/cat.

I am sad to say, my brother does not feel the same way I do. He proceeded to train his dogs the same way my parents did and guess what happened? He has a full grown dog that is afraid of men, very nervous and out of control.

Animals have no voice in the way they are treated, so I try to be the voice of any animal that's in need. ;)